Nik Walser, a Colorado transplant living in Brooklyn, has been volunteering at the ASF for the past twenty years.  Nik started at the ASF while he was a student at NYU through a program the ASF had with NYU that offered college credit for volunteering.  Twenty years later, Nik is a ASF trainer, member of the ASF Volunteer Committee, certified PSIA Level I Adaptive Instructor and just passed his level two accreditation for Mono and Bi Ski teaching in pursuit of his Adaptive Level II certification.

Nik’s passion for skiing started at the ripe old age of 4 years old when his native Colorado non skiing parents got him skiing.  Since that day, skiing became a lifelong passion for Nik.  He now shares his passion of skiing with his partner Tim who loves both skiing and apres ski equally and works Ernst & Young practice that advises banks on how to use leading edge technologies to prevent fraud and protect their customers.

Nik in his own words:

How and when did you first learn about ASF? Any special memories of your first day or early days?

I had to do community service for my scholarship at NYU, and I could hardly believe it when I found a place I could “ski for credit.” When I first called ASF, the woman said “You’re crazy to move here from Colorado, but come to our annual meeting and we’ll see how it goes!” It didn’t sound very promising. I remember sitting in the base lodge cafeteria waiting for that first meeting to start. A woman appeared out of the crowd and started shaking me by the shoulders. “Strong back! You’re a bi-ski tetherer.  We’re going to love you!” she declared as she walked off. With that, Gwen Allard instantly made me feel at home at ASF. I believe that spirit of inclusion – giving every individual the feeling they have a valued place here – is core to ASF’s success, and I hope we continue to give newcomers the same kind of welcome!

What do you love about volunteering at ASF?

It means a lot to be able to share my passion for snowsports with students and fellow volunteers. I love being part of a team that focuses our diverse backgrounds on the shared goal of enabling each student’s success and continually enhancing our adaptive techniques and tools. The reward is in our students’ faces when they have a great day on the snow!